The Hidden Life of Trees: The International Bestseller

Under the giants’ bare branches, Liverleafs & Co. seize the opportunity to produce the carbohydrates they need for the following year.

This ability to produce different compounds is another feature that helps trees fend off attack for a while.

And because our Stone Age ancestors were always on the lookout for ideal places to set up camp, it would make sense if we could intuitively pick up on the state of our surroundings.

The tree uses these openings to exhale oxygen and breathe in carbon dioxide. At night, when the tree is not photosynthesizing, it does the reverse.

Therefore, they demand payment in the form of sugar and other carbohydrates, which their partner tree has to deliver.

Over the decades, constant trampling around the base of the trees leads to further soil compaction, which means that rain drains away far too quickly, and in winter, the trees cannot build up a supply of water to last the summer.

Many Central European tree species have similar ideas about the ideal place to live,

Right from the beginning, it puts considerably more energy into building up its root system than other species of trees.

Under normal circumstances, a tree carefully apportions its energy.